(EDITOR’S NOTE — Friends since they were young teens, Icnacio Florian, Brian Quast and Phil Bungo discovered while growing up in Niagara Falls they shared a love for The Beatles and music from the ‘60s. They began jamming together and formed a band, which bassist Stephanie Kustreba later joined. And it turns out, this is all very good news for the rest of us! You might now Icnacio and Stephanie from Jupiter Trolley. Now, get to know their work with Brian and Phil in Ekohta, because this is a band that’s more than worth checking out. And so too is its new single, ‘Untitled (Golden Record)’… Ekohta is: Icnacio Florian - lead vocals/rhythm guitar; Brian Quast - lead guitar; Stephanie Kustreba – bass, and Phil Bungo – drums. – Photos provided by band.)
1120 PRESS: Congratulations on the new single! How does it feel having it out there in the universe?
ICNACIO FLORIAN: It’s very relieving to be able to put something new out on the streaming services. It’s been a work in progress for the past year and a half, and at one point it didn’t feel like we were going to be able to release it! Hopefully our alien friends are enjoying it to some degree, too.
1120: With members being involved in other musical projects, what’s the process for you guys? When do you decide the time is right for Ekohta to get together to write new material, and was there any particular inspiration behind this new single?
IF: We would all sit down and work on evolving one or two new ideas that would be brought to the table, and really work to craft it into something really groovy-sounding. “Untitled” was written at around the same time as a couple of other songs, and it stuck out among the others at that point in time.
1120: The element of psychedelia is very prevalent in your music and there’s a shared affinity you all have for the 60s. What is it that attracts you to that era and sound?
STEPHANIE KUSTREBA: The 60’s were a very influential decade when it came to music and with it came a new perspective on how far sounds could be stretched in music. We like the illusions that psychedelia creates within, it can open the imagination to lots of new imagery.
1120: In late Sept. 2021, the band put out an EP, Jefferson Apartments, and since then it’s released a handful of singles. Is this latest single any sort of prelude to a new EP or album that’s in the works?
IF: We can’t really say for the time being, but there might be something on the horizon. We’re hoping to release material a little more frequently somewhere along the line.
1120: You guys grew up together and have been friends since high school. How does that long relationship — and the shared background of growing up in Niagara Falls together — shape the music you guys make?
IF: Growing up together and going through our different experiences really helped shape us into the musicians that we’ve become. Being in Niagara Falls wasn’t always the ideal environment for our songwriting, but we’d like to think that we could make the city proud of what we’ve put out there. Deep down, there is Niagara Falls pride.